August was the joint hottest month on recordThu, 10 Sep 2026 02:00:00 +0000 Global warming and a record El Niño have pushed Earth’s temperature more than 1.5°C above the preindustrial average, and further heat is on the way | |
Why our common ancestor with chimpanzees keeps getting further awayWed, 09 Sep 2026 19:30:00 +0000 The more we learn about chimpanzees, the more they resemble us – but the further back in time our shared ancestor seems to be. Columnist Michael Marshall explores how both can be true | |
Bursts of ‘pink noise’ during sleep seem to help clear waste from brainWed, 09 Sep 2026 18:00:00 +0000 The human brain flushes out waste products while we sleep and now it seems that certain sounds might enhance the process | |
Heat spikes over Tibet may help explain severe Californian floodingWed, 09 Sep 2026 18:00:00 +0000 Unusually high temperatures over the mountainous region can kick-start a chain of events that ultimately leads to a severe deluge on the US West Coast, scientists say | |
Earliest evidence of habitual drug use found in teeth in IndonesiaWed, 09 Sep 2026 18:00:00 +0000 Strange, rounded grooves in prehistoric teeth are thought to have been made by regularly sucking whole betel nuts to extract a pain-relieving compound. This marks the earliest known example of probable substance addiction | |
Unexpected hints of dark matter should breathe life into particle physicsWed, 09 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000 With little in the way of significant discoveries since 2012, there have been mutterings that particle physics is at a dead end. However, new dark matter results suggest an exciting new way to hunt for reality's undiscovered ingredients | |
Twisteddoodles on spies through the agesWed, 09 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000 This week's cartoon from Twisteddoodles | |
Tom Gauld on an introduction to basic philosophical astronomyWed, 09 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000 Tom Gauld's weekly cartoon | |
This week’s new questionsWed, 09 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000 Why do people appear younger and better-looking in a mirror than in a photograph? Are humans the only animals that cry? If so, why? | |
Why don’t dogs look up when a low-flying plane passes overhead? part 3Wed, 09 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000 Readers continue to share stories of how their own dogs respond to aircrafts | |